Get PremiumPaul "Stend" Lardin has called it a career. In a statement posted on his X account, the 25-year-old announced his retirement after seven years as a professional, including one in Division 2, three in the ERLs and almost two in the LEC. "My relationship with the game has changed," he wrote. "I know I could still be playing, but I don't see the point in continuing if I feel like I can't give everything it takes to reach the goals I dreamed of."
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Stend retires at 25 after a year that summed up the instability of pro League
The decision closes a 2026 season that piled up way too many setbacks for a single year. It began at Team Heretics, where a playoffs qualification ended in a first-round exit; Stend was the only player benched afterwards.
He resurfaced at MISA in the TCL, joining mid-tournament during EMEA Masters Winter, and finished third, one step short of the final and agonizingly close to the EWC Qualifier. Two weeks into MISA's first TCL split, the organization announced it was leaving League of Legends, making him a free agent for the second time in two months. Shifters picked him up for Summer, in the middle of a season-long collapse, and the team finished last in the LEC with a single win.
The record book tells a gentler story. Stend reached the EMEA Masters final in 2024 with Team Vitality, won the NLC with Dusty, reached a podium in the Superliga with KOI Academy, and in the LFL with Vitality.Bee and lifted the Coupe de France.
He doesn't want to leave the industry yet. "I'm still really passionate about esports, so I'll continue on a different path," he wrote, opening the door to team management roles, in League of Legends or elsewhere, alongside his studies. "Thank you to everyone who supported me during all these years. I'll still be around."
